Chapter 21
Cassidy looked surprised, “how did you know about Arthur?”
“Everyone knew you two dated, last year, what did he do to you? That made you so suspicious of everyone?”
He must have pushed her buttons because she turned red, and spoke sternly, “I don’t want to talk about it, ok?”
Jesse hugged her, Cassidy dropped her bag pack, “I know how you feel I understand…”
“Why do you think you understand? You don’t! not unless you had the same thing happen to you. Tell me did you dated someone for a year just to find out he was married?”
Jesse went pale, and Cassidy couldn’t believe she just mentioned that. She freed herself and grabbed her backpack and ran back to her car.
****************************************************************************
Days passed and Cassandra and Charlie were friends, she’d let Thomas go out with him from time to time. He needed a father figure, and Charlie seemed to get along with him.
Cassandra had been busy, Thomas‘ birthday was coming up. She had done photo shoots for Mr. Swan’s magazine and she set an interview with the reporters, to do the next month, after she moved.
She was getting ready to leave, Mrs. Shultz couldn’t go since she was retiring. Cassandra got a call from the company, they needed her there by the end of the week.
Thomas had tried calling but she wouldn’t answer, Cassandra didn’t want to talk to him. Her phone rang, and she took it and saw the caller id, she sighed in relief.
“Mr. Swan?”
“Hello Cassandra, I had to talk to you, and I knew you wouldn’t answer me unless…”
“You used Mr. Swan’s phone! I have nothing to say to you, whatever it is I don’t want to hear it…”
“I want you to know, that I wasn’t lying to you, you may have thought it was all a lie but…”
“But nothing, Thomas I heard enough! You know that?”
“Fine you don’t have to believe me if you don’t want to, but tell me, where’s my son? How’s he been?”
“I don’t have to tell you anything, you weren’t there for him, but if you want to know he’s been fine all his life without you,” she sniffed, and heard Charlie‘s car out side, “I think I have to go he’s back from playing with his friends.”
“Cassandra we’re back! I’m sorry your son opened the door, and I came to say bye, can I call you later?”
Cassandra turned, and nodded towards him, “thank you Charlie… I’ll call you later,” she almost whispered.
Charlie left, and Thomas left to the kitchen, “Charlie? Was my son with him? I didn’t know you two were that close.”
Cassandra was walking away from her son’s ear shot, “my son is here I have to let you go… and if I get close to someone it’s my business.”
“But my son is my business, if I wasn’t there for him, it’s not because I didn’t want to! If you should have told me before I would’ve…”
“What? Come back and raise your son, were you going to feel sorry for me and rescue me from my loneliness? No! I don’t think so, goodbye Thomas the next time you’ll never see or hear from me again!”
“What are you talking about?” Thomas sounded worried.
“I’m sorry, it’s just that I think I heard my son calling me, I have to leave you now, but if you want to know I’m not answering your calls, I’m not calling you back so stop calling. And we have nothing more to say.”
She hung up the phone and went back to her son the next day would be his birthday, busy preparing the luggage and getting ready for the next day. Thomas already knew they were moving and he was excited.
The next day they were going to have Thomas’ wouldn’t go to school it was the weekend. He was playing outside, and Mrs. Shultz agreed to take care of him for the time being, until the day they left.
Julie and Michael were starting to see each other, they found themselves falling for each other more each day. They would continue to contact each other when she left. After all, she was coming back.
Charlie was going to spend time with him, to help keep him busy, but the truth was he also wanted to spend time with Cassandra.
Cassandra’s phone rang, her sister Cassidy, she wanted to come over and talk to her, “are you busy? I need to talk to you.”
“I was preparing the luggage, but why don’t you come I’m almost done.”
Cassandra hang up but she couldn’t shake the feeling, what did her sister want to talk about? Sooner than later her sister arrived.
Cassidy was smiling but she didn’t want to show she felt “hey sis, how are you? I was thinking we could take a day off, want to go out somewhere? Before we have to move, I want to enjoy my last moments here. Thought I could talk to you on the way.”
Cassandra knew there was something that was bothering her, “ok Thomas is with Mrs. Shultz so let me just go and talk to her for a bit.”
Cassidy waited for her in the car, while she went to talk to Mrs. Shultz, “what’s up sis? I noticed a few days ago you were not the same, what’s going on?”
“I needed to talk to someone, something happened a few days ago, the day I changed my classes to do them online. But before I tell you, I’m going to have to tell you what happened about a year ago.”
“What happened?” She’s going to tell me!
“I was dating a guy and he never told me he was married but when I found out I broke up with him…the worse part is he’s in my school.”
“What? I would have never guessed, does he still go there?”
“Yes, but I went at different times, so I never had to see him. But I…”
“Are you over him?”
“Of course, I think so…I have to be… yes I am. I‘m confused…”
Somehow, it sounded like she wasn’t, Cassandra was disappointed, why does this have to happen to us? “Cassidy is that why you wanted to stop going to school? Because you‘re confused?”
“Yes, I feel confused because of Jesse, I want him to understand that I can’t be with him, he’s tried to talk to me but… I haven’t answered, I just don’t know what to say.”
“Why don’t you explain?”
Cassidy sighed, “I well actually I didn’t…”
“What do you mean? did you? Or you did you not? What happened?”
“It escaped me, it was talking to one of my teacher’s and Jesse was mad, I couldn’t blame him. He knew about Arthur, I was surprised when he asked, and he was being nice saying he understood, but…”
“But?”
“He doesn’t understand because he didn’t go through the same thing as I did! He never dated a person for a year just to find out he was married!”
“Married?” Cassandra sounded surprised and angry at the same time, “that guy was married?”
Cassidy nodded, she couldn’t speak because if she spoke she felt that she would burst into tears.
“Cassidy, that’s why you never told me what happened? How did he take it?”
Cassidy took a deep breath, “I don’t know… I couldn’t believe I had said that and ran out of there. He’s tried calling me but…I can’t answer.”
“I know how you must feel, remember Thomas did that to me too, but at least you don’t have anything in common with this Arthur guy, and remember you can see other people.”
“I know, and you’re right I just feel confused right now…”
“What do you mean?”
“I kissed Jesse before, and I might like him… I know at first he seemed a stuck up, but when you get to know him…you can grow to love him, you know what I mean?”
“Well, how does he feel about you?”
“I don’t know but if he feels sorry for me, and I won’t be able to take it. I don’t really know if I’m over Arthur it’s not like I’d date him again, but he has a lot to do with me trusting another guy.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t trust anyone, anymore I don’t know if he might end up doing the same thing to me, not that he’s married of course. But it’s hard to trust again.”
Cassandra felt related because she felt the same way as her sister did. She had… was feeling the same way. “Cassidy I want you to promise me that you’re going to give yourself a chance, don’t be afraid you’re strong.”
“I want to believe him but I can’t even answer his call, how can I tell him?”
“You can, you’re in love, but you’re just afraid, if I were in love I’d be taking my own advice… do it before it’s too late!”
Cassidy was reflecting in what she was telling her, “are you still in love with Thomas?”
Cassandra‘s eyes widened, “I am, you don’t know how lucky you are, I can’t say I’m not happy with my son, but I wish I should’ve seen it coming,” she hated admitting to it.
“You can’t live being afraid all the time either, I know you’ll find someone just open your mind and your heart.”
They walked around the mall, Cassidy would stop from time to time when she recalled the time when they went out. Her phone rang, and she felt her stomach clutch tightly when she saw who it was.
“Answer it, just relax it’ll be ok, we can go eat something, I’ll order for both of us,” Cassandra left Cassidy sitting on the bench, while she left to order for them.
Cassidy answered the phone, “hello?”
“Cassidy? You answered!” the voice on the other end sounded relieved, “I want to talk to you, you left so fast the other day that I couldn’t…”
“Ok… I’m at the mall, we’re at the food court.”
The other end went silent for a moment, “are you with someone else? I thought…”
“I’m out with my sister, we are here at the food court.”
“Ok, I’m on my way, I really need to talk to you,” minutes later he arrived, he caught view of her and walked towards them.
Cassandra seemed surprised, “wow you really did change his look, didn’t you? He looks so different.”
Cassidy got nervous Cassandra noticed, “Cassidy, it’s ok… I‘ll be near by, just talk to him, it‘ll be fine…”
“Cassidy, I just wanted to tell you that… I didn’t know how it all happened…” he looked like he wanted to say something else, “wait that’s not what I wanted to say, I should’ve known better it’s just that…”
“It’s ok, I made sure not to tell anyone why I broke up with him, I was embarrassed that I was tricked. I should‘ve seen it but I was blind. I had got my classes around his schedule so I wouldn’t see him obviously. No one knows… almost no one.” Cassidy looked at him.
“I’ll keep your secret I promise… cross my heart,” Jesse crossed his heart with his right hand, “but that’s not all I wanted to say.”
“What did you want to tell me?” Cassidy looked surprised.
“I guess what I’m trying to say is that I love you, and I wanted to tell you that the other day but you just left.” He seemed nervous, “I just want to know how you feel about it.”
“Well, I can leave you two to talk alone, I don’t think you guys need a sitter,” Cassandra left them talking.
“Why did you leave school? Was it because of the argument we had? You didn‘t want to see me, you could‘ve…Cassidy are you still in love with him?”
“No it’s just that I already had the classes at times that he wouldn’t see me, but there’d more than one reason, he might…”
Jesse sounded stern, “might what? What would he do?”
“Nothing bad,” she said foreseen what he might be thinking, was he worried about her? “I mean…I just don’t want him to see me.”
“What happened between you two?”
Cassidy sighed, “I don’t trust anyone with this secret because of that, I loved him. I thought he loved me, but obviously I was ridiculed. Because he’s married and he hid it from me.”
“I’m sorry, I can only imagine…”
“I don’t want your sympathy! Don’t…”
“I know how it feels not to trust people, but with you I feel different there’s something about you, that made me trust you although you were keeping your sister’s location a secret, there’s something about you.”
Cassidy was looking at him, with wonder, “I didn’t know you trusted me, I thought you were different since the beginning. I know how you feel…I trusted you when I blurted out about Arthur, I couldn‘t trust anyone else with that.”
They chatted happily the rest of the time, Cassandra was watching them from afar, wishing she could feel the same as happy. One day… they came over and interrupted her thoughts, “what?”
“Cassandra be the first to know, that we are officially boyfriend and girlfriend.” they were so enthusiastic that she thought her sister changed from what she’d been before.
Cassandra couldn’t help but smile back at them, “good, you have to tell mother, she’s going to be glad for the two of you…actually it’s dad who is going to take it kind of hard.”
Cassidy’s face was shocked, “you’re right, but I’m telling mom first that way we can tell dad together.”
“Good,” Cassandra was smiling.
“Cassandra I’m going to be going to school to see my friends, and Jesse is taking me, would you mind going and taking my car?”
“Of course not! You guys have fun, I’ll just tell mom, that you went to see your friends… I‘ll let you two talk to her later, I think it best the two of you tell mom first…you don‘t want dad to be the first to know.”
“Why not your dad seemed cool?” Jesse seemed surprised, when they returned a look that said amazement.
“Are you kidding? My dad didn’t even want Cassandra to get married, it took much convincing and my mother is probably the only one who can.”
He looked nervous, but said, “it’s ok, we can talk to your mother and then we can talk to your father together…”he sighed, “I just hope no to get nervous.”
“You’ll be fine, I know it!” Cassandra rooted for them, Cassidy gave her the keys to her car and they left their separate ways.
“See you later then?” they agreed to meet at Cassandra’s afterwards. Cassidy left in his car, while Cassandra left in her sister’s. When she arrived her mother was surprised to see her come in her sister’s car alone.
“Where’s Cassidy?”
“Mom, she met someone at the mall one of her friends and they wanted to see her, so she left but she’ll come back here later.”
Cassandra went to check on Thomas, “Thomas has been very happy with Mrs. Shultz, I think he’ll miss her once we move.”
Olivia went upstairs with Julie, they closed the door to he library.
Cassandra watched her son sitting on the table to taste another of Mrs. Shultz’s cookies. Thomas’ eyes widened as he took a bite from it.
“That’s great honey, have you been having fun, with Mrs. Shultz?” Thomas nodded, “ok, I need to talk to Mrs. Shultz but you can keep eating.”
Mrs. Shultz followed her to the living room, “thank you Mrs. Shultz you’ve been his sitter since he was a baby, and I know he’ll miss you.”
“Me too, I saw him as if he were my own grandson, but I need to retire.”
“Mrs. Shultz I wanted to ask you if you wanted to stay here, we are moving as you know, and I trust you we can’t leave the house empty.”
Mrs. Shultz was surprised, “why? I don’t know, this is simply too big for me, and…”
“I understand, but we have a guest house it’s only one bedroom, and you can live there, since you’re going to retire I wanted to make things easier for you.”
Mrs. Shultz hugged her, “thank you, I didn’t really know if I was going to be able to afford anything, I was planning to move with my children but they have their own lives, thank you.”
“Your welcome, listen there was something else, will you come to my son’s birthday tomorrow? He’s turning five and we’ll celebrate it here. You don’t have to bring a present just come on over.”
“Oh, yes, I’d love too!” They departed, “until tomorrow…” she waved.